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Review
. 2015 May 19;20(5):8952-87.
doi: 10.3390/molecules20058952.

Chemistry and biological activity of ramalina lichenized fungi

Antônio Sérgio Nascimento Moreira  1   2 , Raimundo Braz-Filho  3 , Vicente Mussi-Dias  4 , Ivo José Curcino Vieira  5
Affiliations
Review

Chemistry and biological activity of ramalina lichenized fungi

Antônio Sérgio Nascimento Moreira et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Lichens are a form of symbiont between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium, which contains a wide variety of organic compounds with certain secondary metabolite classes typical of these organisms. The Ramalina genus has approximately 246 species distributed around the World, of which in this review approximately 118 species with published chemical or biological activity studies of extracts or isolated compounds were cited. From the 153 mentioned compounds, only 27 passed were tested for biological activity, being usnic acid the most studied compound and the one showing the best results in almost all in vitro tests performed, although other compounds also presented excellent results as antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory agents, among others. Extracts of several species also presented significant results in performed biological tests, demonstrating the potential that these organisms have, in particular, the gender Ramalina, to produce bioactive molecules that can be used as a model for the production of pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: Ramalina; antitumoral; biological activitiy; lichen; usnic acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of polysaccharides of Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of usnic acid and derivatives from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of the depsides and derivatives of the Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structures of the depsides and derivatives of the Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chemical structures of depsidones from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chemical structures of fatty acids from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Chemical structures of other compounds: carotenoids of Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Chemical structures of other compounds: carotenoids of Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Chemical structures of other compounds: steroids and terpenoids from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Chemical structures of other compounds: lipids and amines from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Chemical structures of other compounds: amino acids from Ramalina species of the fungi.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Chemical structures of other compounds from Ramalina species of lichenized fungi.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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